I was going through all my digital photos and came across another example of pink. This is Beatrix on her first Halloween. She was wearing a Build A Bear Workshop dress, normally worn by Aidan’s Nelly The Horse. It’s hard to believe she was ever that tiny.

I was shopping at a Gymboree one day when Aidan was around four months old. As I shuffled through the clearance racks, I noticed a gathering of toddlers around the TV area. Two of them were fighting over one of the little chairs. I turned to check on Aidan when I heard a yowl. The toddlers’ mothers did the rush-scoop-coo-exam. One of the little ones had bitten the other.

The manager came out of the back and wrote an incident report. She told the moms she would have to call the legal department as well.

The perpetrator was locked in the stroller, thrashing with indignation for a minute or two until the mom took him out for a cuddle. I think he was just as scared as the victim, who didn’t take long to be soothed and was soon back at the TV.

I took it all in with a mixture of bemusement at the overblown legalities and horror at the badly behaved biter. My children will never, ever bite! I swore.

But they did. All of them.

Today, Beatrix bit Joel out of anger. He was on the rocking cow, Louis. She wanted him off. She pulled and pulled, tugged at his shirt, said “Jow! Jow!” Then she snapped. Joel screamed in surprise: “She BIT me!” She started crying too, overwhelmed by all the emotion and perceived injustice of being picked up, carried away from the room where Louis lives, and told firmly, “No bite, Bea.”

She’ll do it again. She’s only 17 months.

After everyone settled down, I remembered that day in Gymboree. I was smug, dumb, and naive. I wonder what I am smug, dumb, and naive about now.

My kids will never…

That’s a blank I won’t fill in.